Certified Silver Coins Beginning to Outpace Certified Gold Coins

Posted by Brian Ford onSeptember 10, 2013

Entities such as the U.S. Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint and the Royal Mint of England have reiterated throughout 2010 that silver is beginning to draw some of the market share away from gold, and now it appears that this trend is not limited to bullion bars and coins. The Certified Gold Exchange has experienced an influx of investors insistent on buying certified silver coins, such as the famous Peace dollar and its predecessor, the Morgan silver dollar.

While high-grade examples of these two coins can cost quite a bit more than raw bullion (an MS67 Morgan dollar is currently selling for around $600 and MS66 Peace dollars are worth about $450) some investors believe that the rarity of these coins will help them to outperform the movement of silver bullion prices, as has been the case in the past. Other investors prefer to get the most silver for their money but still want certified coinage, which is considered more private due to its collectible status. Investors with that mindset can purchase investment-grade (MS63) Peace or Morgan silver dollars for a little more than double the silver spot price, and such coins have a history of pacing or outpacing profits seen in silver bullion, albeit by a small margin.

Investors who buy certified silver coins are almost never coin collectors, so why do they purchase something with a seemingly high premium that is classified by our government as a collectible? Safety. The crashing of U.S. currency could force our government to confiscate bullion as it did in 1933. Because there are so many un-backed dollar bills out there many fear that the next precious metal recall would not only make owning gold bullion illegal but could also affect the legality of silver and platinum bullion ownership by the average household investor. This is why certified silver coins are growing in popularity so quickly, and with silver up 11 percent in the last 30 days it appears that this trend could continue.